Tanzania: RC Stops Moshi Councillors' Trip

Moshi — KILIMANJARO Regional Commissioner Leonidas Gama has suspended a planned visit to Kigali, Rwanda, by 29 councillors, 14 heads of departments and 14 senior officers of Moshi Municipal Council because it was costly.

A letter written by the Municipal Executive Director, Ms Bernadette Kinabo, on behalf of the RC states that the visit, was intended for capacity building and would have consumed 30m/- in per diem allowances and 100m/- in upkeep allowances. The RC noted that the budget allocated for capacity building was not supposed to be spent on a single trip.

"The budget for the intended trip need to be amended to justify expenditure," he stressed, pointing out that it was not good for the entire budgetary allocation to be spent on a single activity. Mr Gama further pointed out that according to experts, subsistence allowances are provided for six days and civil service regulations require civil servants to be provided with outfit allowances before they proceed on foreign visits.

He said that by estimation, the budget for the Kigali trip would have consumed between 150m/- and 200m/-.

Meanwhile, the National Secretary General for Tanzania Union of Government Health Employees (TUGHE), Mr Kiwenge Ali Kiwenge, has expressed the need for workers to hold meetings to foster solidarity and break the barrier between the management and employees.

Addressing workers at Mawenzi Regional Hospital, he said that during meetings, workers exchange views and point out procedure that would help boost productivity at their workplaces. He added that workers should join Parastatal Service Pension Fund (PSPF) for their future benefit when they retire.

Mr Kiwenge asked authorities at regional level to provide plots of land to PSPF on which to build houses that would be allocated to its members on credit basis. He also lashed out at government hospital medics for referring patients to buy medicines from private pharmacies while the government has allocated all health facilities with essential medical drugs and other materials.

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